Molecular biophysics predoctoral training at the Ohio State University

The Molecular Biophysics Training Program (MBTP) at The Ohio State University (OSU) was formed in 2017 as an organizing principle for training and interaction in molecular biophysics. OSU is a comprehensive public land grant university, one of the largest in the nation. OSU has a strong group of researchers and attracts a strong student pool in molecular biophysics, but graduate training and the research community were fragmented over several graduate programs, departments, and colleges. We have made great progress in building a unified molecular biophysics community through a shared mission of training the next generation of quantitative biomedical scientists. MBTP brings disparate groups together and creates an integrated training experience, in which students from three different graduate programs (Biophysics, the Ohio State Biochemistry Program, and the Chemistry Graduate Program) and many different undergraduate majors learn from each other and from a broader group of mentors. All trainees obtain core training in macromolecular and physical biochemistry, in the fundamentals of biophysics, and in the responsible conduct of research with the highest standard of rigor and reproducibility. This breadth ensures that trainees can communicate equally well about our most challenging biomedical problems and about the modern quantitative and molecular methods to address these, while being responsible citizens and researchers. A coordinated plan from a wide selection of elective courses ensures that students have enough depth to be successful in their research projects. A monthly workshop series and a yearly symposium provide cohesion to the program and incorporate unique training opportunities in career exploration, professional development, mentoring best practices, and continuous engagement with ethics training. Here we propose to deepen and expand this project, drawing in a large community of new young investigators in medicine and engineering as trainers, training a larger cohort of students, raising the rigor of quantitative skills, and expanding focus areas to include cryo-EM and biomedical engineering. At the same time, trainers will engage in evidence-based practices to elevate their mentoring skills. The resources invested in the program by NIH will be augmented by the institution, together allowing us to recruit and retain the strongest interdisciplinary students. Guiding principles of excellence, collaboration and interdisciplinarity are used to build on our original plan for the highest quality training, research and career development for students of molecular biophysics.